Prepare to have this place livened up a bit in the starship department.
As you all might know, I seem to have a knack of finding obscure email addresses of people who once worked for Star Trek's Art/VFX departments, and bugging them for pics of rarely seen ship models. Well, do I have a treat for you guys. I may be getting photos of not just one, but possibly four (!) models we haven't seen before. Once I get the pics, you guys will see the pics. Starting tonight.
In a nutshell, here's the rundown for this model. I've been in back-and-forth email contact with Adam Buckner (the guy who built the Centaur model) for almost two years now. He had built another kitbash besides the Centaur and the "Jupp" (the Constitution saucer with two nacelles kitbash), which according to him sat on Peter Lauritson's desk. It's a Miranda cargo variant he named the "Bradford" (although there's no name or registry on the model). It took me this long to get the photo because the models were basically sitting in a box in his garage all this time, and when he finally got them out they were in pieces. I didn't want to say anything here until I got a photo. But Adam is a really nice guy and really wanted to have the model look good before sending me a pic of it, so he glued it back together and snapped a photo:
"Wires everywhere. LEDs falling out. Mount points broken. Aged glue from a repair showing thru...
And the lens and DoF on the camera is all wrong...
Makes me cringe.
As you can see, it's a cargo variant for carrying substantial loads. I always imagined the rest of the main hull being converted to traditional cargo bays as well. Large doors and transporter arrays for loading cargo. Not much on the personnel side.
Main parts are new Enterprise, Reliant, and two Apollo Saturn 5's.
Once I get something other than a portrait lens (like a sliver of a Depth of Field) and a better backdrop than my couch, I'll try to get some more details. Originally I wanted to have at least one detachable cargo pod, but as a mid- to BG- ship there'd never be the chance to see it picking up cargo, so in the end, both pods were hard wired.
I'm missing some mount point covers and some other tiny bits... sigh."
I told him that I was just happy to see the picture
Besides the Reliant and the Saturn V rockets, it also looks like the nacelle pylons are actually Intrepid pylons taken from a Voyager model. The other thing that I find amazing is that the model is a dead ringer for the Kobayashi Maru seen in the new Star Trek movie (although this model was built a decade before that). Oh, and that the cargo pods are slightly phallic... Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Nice to see the Prime Universe still has some gifts for us. I seem to recall Buckner talking about how he made a bunch of misc. ships for use in scenes involving starbases, to get the sense that these bases were areas of high activity/traffic, and in the end, only a few were ever used (the Centaur and the Frankenstein fleet in A Time to Stand). So did it ever appear on screen?
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
The only ships I know he built for a fact was the Centaur, the Jupp, and this one. If he built any more I don't know about them. I got the impression that it wasn't filmed because Lauritson liked it so much he kept it on his desk.
Although there's an interesting story with the Centaur. Buckner was originally going to build a different model for it, but a young boy asked if he could build a model for him. So Buckner gave the boy the model that he was working on, and then built the Centaur as a replacement.
Posted by Pensive's Wetness (Member # 1203) on :
and the Centaur is in STO... interesting design, and yes the nu-Trek's KM is very simular in placement. with CGI, there's no reason you couldnt kitbash that design for TV or the movies... please show more?
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
I'm amazed that FlareUpload seems to be working again.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Awesome! It's an original configuration Reliant but with huge cargo pods instead of the phaser cannons. Looks kinda like my old USS Gao Yao design from waaay back:
A much better design than that shitty Tug thing made from computer clamps and whatnot. As to the design, I figure the crew compliment is minimal- with a workbee for everyone when it arrives at starbase to unload it's cargo...or possibly to unload emergency parts and supplies at mobile repair or defense stations- hell, with that cargo capacity, these ships could even bring a new warpcore to ships that jettison theirs to seal a subsapce rift...not that I'm pointing any fingers at anyone named Riker or anything.
quote:Originally posted by Dukhat: Although there's an interesting story with the Centaur. Buckner was originally going to build a different model for it, but a young boy asked if he could build a model for him. So Buckner gave the boy the model that he was working on, and then built the Centaur as a replacement.
That's a very cool guy to do that for a kid- Can you ask him what the model's configuration was? I wonder what that kid did with the model?
Great work in getting us this info and the pic, Dukhat! You sir, rock.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Yes, we must find that kid...
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
quote:I'm amazed that FlareUpload seems to be working again.
Well, all I did was type the upload site's URL and entered my username/password, and it took me right to my uploaded files.
quote:That's a very cool guy to do that for a kid- Can you ask him what the model's configuration was? I wonder what that kid did with the model?
I got the impression that the original model was a similar configuration, just not as detailed. I'll check my old emails to find what he actually wrote about it. There's also some newer pics of the Centaur on his webpage, which I've forgotten the URL of but I have it somewhere in an old email.
quote:Great work in getting us this info and the pic, Dukhat! You sir, rock.
Wait until you see what else I'll be getting. I'm also in email contact with Dan Curry in order to get photos of his U.S.S. Curry model (but he's just moved and the model is in a shipping box somewhere waiting to be unearthed. He told me that once he finds it he'll take pics for me). And somebody else has two more models which sound very intriguing...
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Someone call him up and saay you're that kid's dad and you just clumsily broke his kid's Trek model and could he please maybe send the Centaur model as a replacement, only he moved and now lives in Fort Lauderdale and is now called Jason because that's the thing now and no, he wont sell it or anything. Really, I think that could work- and Nim can say he's in Congress, so unless he wants a big hearing into SFX leading to "Muslim extremism", he better pony over the model as proof of good faith from the hollywood community- none of the Charlie Sheen crazy backtalk either.
Hey, did you know I've been awake over thirty hours now?
*dies*
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
And I'll pretend to be one of the Koch brothers...
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
Yep, that's the link. Click on the "USS Buckner" link and you'll see the Centaur pics and the story about the kid.
Posted by Johnny (Member # 878) on :
What a nice man.
It's amazing that after all these years there are still models we've yet to see, or even know exist. Makes me wonder if some other things will ever come to light, like the alternate version of the Emissary Borg battle that's rumoured to have been filmed in part, or at least had models built for it. Good going managing to unearth more information, Dukhat!
And am I seeing things, or are the connecting struts for those cargo pods part of the stands for the ERTL Excelsior model? Very nice use of spare parts, if so.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I...think you're right! Those do look to be Excelsior stands!
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
The resourcefulness put into making these kitbashes never ceases to amaze me. I'm still not fond of some of the designs where the different components are still recognizable (the Yeager and the one with the F-14 body come to mind), but the creativity used to make these pieces fit together still blows my mind.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
quote:Originally posted by Johnny: What a nice man.
It's amazing that after all these years there are still models we've yet to see, or even know exist. Makes me wonder if some other things will ever come to light, like the alternate version of the Emissary Borg battle that's rumoured to have been filmed in part, or at least had models built for it.
Yeah, Adam Buckner is a cool guy, and he was extremely patient with my quarter-monthly email reminders to him about the models. I'm currently in the same boat with Dan Curry, but he's being nice too. If only I had contacted him beofre he moved!
I seriously doubt we'll ever see the lost Wolf 359 footage from Emissary. And even if we did, I doubt there'd be anything new. When I originally emailed Rob Legato, he really had very little recollection of the scene, as opposed to what he stated in the DS9 Compendium. Okuda also stated that no new models were built, and I believe him. I used to think that there might have been an Ambassador-ized kitbash for the U.S.S. Gage, until I found out that AMT didn't come out with an Ent-C model kit until a year before DS9 ended
However, the last person who emailed me bandied about the names "Ptolemy" and "Tolstoy," the latter of which I'm curious about because we all know there was no Tolstoy. Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
There was lost footage of Wold 359, I never knew that.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Yes...this is news to me as well. Must we extract Mr. Okuda's molars to learn the truth of this matter?
I'm sensing a Flare Roadtrip!
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Is it safe? Is it Safe!!!
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
"I swear to GOD!" I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!! WE NEVER FIL....AAAGGHHH!!"
sigh...That is the incorrect answer, Mr. Okuda. Shall we extract the third molar? Yessss....I need some suction and a clamp, Mr. Dukhat. Mars, bring me the #7 drillbit, wont you?
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mars Needs Women: There was lost footage of Wold 359, I never knew that.
In a nutshell, Rob Legato (then VFX head for DS9) was told to film a battle scene for the opener of "Emissary" where the Saratoga was in the middle of the battle, with debris and burning ships all around. The script then got changed to having the Saratoga, Melbourne, et. al just starting the battle, which is the version we all saw. It was explained pretty clearly in the DS9 Companion.
Anyway, I had asked both Legato and Okuda about the unused footage. Despite what he told the author of the book, he really had very little recollection of the scene; all he really remembered was that the damaged version of the Reliant from TWOK was possibly used as one of the ships. Okuda stated that no new models were constructed specifically for this shot (meaning whatever was used was just stuff already lying around, like with the "Unification" surplus depot scenes).
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
Nice work, Dukkie, thanks for continuing to probe into this kind of thing and sharing your results!
Regarding this bit...
quote:Originally posted by Dukhat: Although there's an interesting story with the Centaur. Buckner was originally going to build a different model for it, but a young boy asked if he could build a model for him. So Buckner gave the boy the model that he was working on, and then built the Centaur as a replacement.
...and I'm only pointing this out for accuracy's sake, not to nitpick you...
What it actually says on Buckner's site is:
quote:http://www.adambuckner.com/USS_Buckner.html#0: The USS Buckner was a ship I built while at Paramount working on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for a little boy who wanted a Star Trek ship. Gary Hutzel saw the ship and asked if it could be featured in one of his upcoming episodes. I let Gary use the ship. He added the green fluorescent tape for windows and the pink fluorescent paint for engines. As this ship would now be a shooting model, a produced a second model which I sent on to the boy as promised.
So it sounds to me like the model he gave to the boy was a second one built after the one used for the show, not the other way around.
Thanks again for your continuing efforts to bring this stuff to light!
--MMoM Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :
I would have loved to see this utilitarian ship on screen. Perhaps instead of the Curry.
Posted by Veers (Member # 661) on :
When I first saw that pic, I thought, "Those are some off-color nacelles!" But upon re-reading the post, I realize those are cargo pods. That would have been nice to see at Starbase 375 as a logistics ship for Operation Return.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim:
So it sounds to me like the model he gave to the boy was a second one built after the one used for the show, not the other way around.
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